Gone
by Sierra Hawkins
Summary: Ironhide experiences the cold, brutal effects of war.
1. Chapter 1

Hi!  
I was feeling all angsty so I wrote this.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Transformers.

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Gone. Everyone gone. Everything gone. Ironhide slowly made his way through the field of offline mechs and femmes, searching for one femme in particular. Ironhide used his powerful scanners to detect any living being. The reading drew a blank. Ironhide sighed and continued to wade through the dead bodies. Autobots and Decepticons alike were scattered across the ground, all of them with families they had planned to return to, friends they had promised to meet with, enemies they had promised to kill. A bit of blue armor stood out in a rather large heap of bodies, and Ironhide's processor reeled. He ran to the pile, and threw aside one body after another until he reached a slender, but solidly built, blue femme. Ironhide's thinking stopped and his body froze. Ironhide carefully lifted the femme into his arms, and collapsed onto his knees. The colorless optics stared blankly at Ironhide, and Ironhide stared back. Ironhide analyzed her body, and found that it was broken beyond repair. Dread, sadness, guilt, and livid anger filled Ironhide's body to the brim. The Decepticons. The Decepticons had done this to her, done this to him. Ironhide let out a furious roar and pounded the ground with one fist, leaving a large dent. A sob threatened to come out of his vocalizer, but Ironhide pushed it back. He had a reputation to keep as the fearless, merciless, violent Autobots' weapons specialist who lived for war and to fight. But blind rage washed over Ironhide, and he laid Chromia back on the ground. The Decepticons had done this. The Decepticons would pay.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey!  
This one is not nearly as dark as the last chapter, but I decided to publish it anyway since I spent time to write it.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Transformers.

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Ironhide trudged his way back to the temporary Autobot headquarters. The thick metal doors slid open and Ironhide was greeted by Blurr.

"Hey Ironhide! How was the recon mission?" Blurr was surprised and slightly bothered when Ironhide didn't answer and continued walking. Ironhide headed straight to Optimus' office and opened the door. Ratchet and Optimus were inside.

"Ironhide! How was the recon mission?" questioned Ratchet. Ratchet and Optimus immediately became concerned and worried by Ironhide's expression of loss and anger.

"All soldiers lost," replied Ironhide in a monotone. "We were ambushed and out-numbered." Ratchet's mouth opened, but no words came out.

"Everyone?" whispered Optimus. Ironhide nodded.

"Primus…" whispered Ratchet. Ironhide suddenly seemed to loose his balance and he collapsed onto his knees. Ironhide's closest comrades rushed to his side.

"What's wrong?" asked Ratchet. "Did you get hit?"

"C-Chromia…" choked out Ironhide. "C-Chromia… she's dead." Ironhide's words hung in the air and seemed to weigh down the Prime and the medic.

"W-what?" stuttered Ratchet. "Oh Primus…" Optimus felt a combination of sadness, sympathy, anger, and guilt wash over him. From Ratchet's expression, he was clearly feeling the same way. They both were close friends of Chromia, and they also knew how big of a blow this was to Ironhide. Ironhide's whole body was shaking violently now, and he shuttered his optics. After a few moments, Ironhide reopened his optics, which had changed to a dark violet color with a tinge of red. Ironhide was now shaking in blind anger. His pain and sadness had been covered by uncontrollable rage. Ironhide promptly activated his cannons and shot two holes right through the wall. Optimus and Ratchet were thoroughly concerned. They had never seen their friend like this before, and Ironhide's purple-red optics quite disturbed Optimus. Ironhide powered down his cannons, and his optics returned to normal icy blue color. Optimus and Ratchet kneeled down next to Ironhide and said nothing, only allowing their presence calm him down. Ironhide sighed heavily and stood back up.

"They will pay," Ironhide growled lowly and menacingly. Then he left the office to probably return to his own quarters. Optimus couldn't help but notice Ironhide's optics flash red again.

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So, what'd ya think??

~Sierra


	3. Chapter 3

Hi!  
My god! This chapter took a while. I brought more of Optimus and Ratchet point of view into it. Hope you like!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Transformers.

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Ironhide's optics turned slightly purple as he spotted the Decepticons coming. He could barely stop himself from charging straight at them, and the eager Autobots around him didn't help either. Brief flashes of Chromia's charred and mutilated body appeared in Ironhide's processor, and a deep growl emitted from his chest caused the Autobots around him to look at him uneasily. Ever since Chromia's death, all of the Autobots agreed that Ironhide had changed. He now delighted in seeing a Decepticon's optics go offline at his hands, and he hid whatever compassion and love he had left deep inside himself. Optimus and Ratchet had been keeping a close eye on their friend over the last few orns, and they became more worried every day. Ironhide's cannons slowly powered up, giving off a powerful thrum that was more felt than heard.

"Autobots," said Optimus, his deep regal voice calming Ironhide a little. "Attack!" Ironhide let out an ear-shattering roar and jumped straight into the fray. Decepticons fell dead all around him, and Ironhide laughed maliciously, a sound causing Ratchet to shudder just a few feet away as he tended to the wounded.

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Ratchet stared in horror at his teammate, partner, and friend. He looked absolutely terrifying with his optics glowing red and his black armor illuminated by the destructive fires around him, and Ratchet grimaced and gasped as Ironhide ripped a spark right out of a Decepticon's chest and crushed it with his own hands. Ratchet shook his head and returned his focus to the body beside him, leaking energon all over the place.

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Optimus fought beside Ironhide on the frontlines and after many flashes of fire and screams of pain, Optimus and Ironhide and only a few other Autobots remained standing. Optimus turned to find Ironhide, and he watched with wide optics as Ironhide blasted an already offline Decepticon into pieces. Optimus quietly walked up behind Ironhide and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Ironhide retracted his cannons and turned to face his leader.

"Ironhide?" asked Optimus quietly.

"I'm fine," growled Ironhide as he shrugged Optimus' hand off of his shoulder. Optimus watched disdainfully as Ironhide glanced at the battlefield and walked back towards the base. Optimus became even more concerned when he spotted an obviously enraged medic chase after him.

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"Ironhide, wait," said Ratchet.

"I'm tired Hatchet," replied Ironhide. "So if you could kindly leave me alone." Ratchet stopped in mid-step.

"Would you just listen to me Ironhide?" he roared. Ironhide turned around, surprised at Ratchet's sudden outburst.

"All you have been doing for the past vorn is sulking and feeling bad for yourself!" shouted Ratchet as he got into Ironhide's face. "Can't you see how much you've changed? You won't even go have a cup of energon with Prime and I! All you do is shoot slagging targets for hours in that stupid shooting range of yours!" Ratchet paused as he waited for a response. Ironhide looked at his comrade with a cold stare.

"I said I'm tired," stated Ironhide. "I don't have the energy to listen to this slag right now."

"I DON'T FRAGGING CARE IF YOU'RE TIRED!" screamed Ratchet. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU CAN'T EVEN CONTROL YOUR OWN EMOTIONS ANYMORE! THE WAY YOU EXTINGUISH SPARKS LIKE THROWING OUT THE TRASH IS HORRIFYING! DON'T YOU SEE? YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN A DECEPTICON!" Ratchet's last comment worked like magic. Ironhide let out a vicious roar and tackled Ratchet to the ground.

"I AM NOTHING LIKE THOSE GLITCHED FRAGGERS!" roared Ironhide. "THEY KILLED CHROMIA! THEY KILLED HER RATCHET! WHAT CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THAT?"

"I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND! OPTIMUS LOST ELITA! I LOST MOONRACER!"

Ratchet's breathing hitched as Ironhide pressed down harder on his chest.

"You've killed so many…" whispered Ratchet. "…Are you going to kill me too?" Ironhide immediately stood up, releasing the pressure from Ratchet's chassis. His air intakes rapidly worked, and Ratchet's cooling fans turned on. Ironhide turned to walk away, but he glanced back at Ratchet.

"You are worth too much to me to kill."


End file.
